Senate
in the Roman Forum]] A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class. Two of the first official senates were the Greek Senate (Γερουσία Gerousia) and the Roman Senate. Overview The modern word senatorial is derived from the Latin word senātus (senate), which comes from senex, "old man". American Heritage Dictionary: senate The members or legislators of a senate are called senators. The Latin word senator was adopted into English with no change in spelling. Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of simple social organization in which decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men. For the same reason, the word senate is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. The original senate was the Roman Senate, which lasted until 580. In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Senate continued until the Fourth Crusade. Modern democratic states with bicameral parliamentary systems are sometimes equipped with a senate, often distinguished from an ordinary parallel lower house, known variously as the "House of Representatives", "House of Commons", "Chamber of Deputies", "National Assembly", "Legislative Assembly", or "House of Assembly", by electoral rules. This may include minimum age required for voters and candidates, proportional or majoritarian or plurality system, and an electoral basis or collegium. Typically, the senate is referred to as the upper house and has a smaller membership than the lower house. In some federal states senates also exist at the subnational level. In the United States all states other than Nebraska have a state senate. In Australia all states other than Queensland have an upper house known as a legislative council. Several Canadian provinces also once had legislative councils, but these have all been abolished, the last being Quebec's Legislative Council, in 1968. Senate membership can be determined either through elections or appointments. For example, elections are held every three years for half the membership of the Australian Senate, the term of a senator being six years. In contrast, members of the Canadian Senate are appointed by the Governor General upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, holding the office until they resign, are removed, or retire at the mandatory age of 75. In larger countries, the senate often serves a balancing effect by giving a larger share of power to regions or groups which would otherwise be overwhelmed under strictly popular apportionment. Alternative meanings The terms Senate and Senator, however, do not necessarily refer to a second chamber of a legislature: * In Finland, until 1919, the Senate was the executive branch and the supreme court. * In German politics: In the Bundesländer of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, the Senates (or Senat in German) are the executive branch, with Senator (Senator) being the holders of ministerial portfolios. In Bavaria, the Senate was the upper house (second chamber) of parliament until its abolition in 1999. In a number of cities, such as Greifswald, Lübeck, Rostock, Stralsund, or Wismar, the city government is called senate too. * In German jurisdiction: The term Senat (senate) in higher courts of appeal refers to the "bench" in its broader metonymy meaning, describing members of the judiciary collectively (usually five judges), often occupied with of a particular subject-matter jurisdiction. However, the judges are not called "senators". The German term Strafsenat in a German court translates to Bench of penal-law jurisdiction and Zivilsenat to Bench of private-law jurisdiction. * In Scotland, judges of the High Court of Justiciary are called Senators of the College of Justice. * In some, mostly federal countries with a unicameral legislature, some of the legislators are elected differently from the others and are called Senators. In federal countries, such Senators represent the territories, while the other members represent the people at large (this device is used to allow a federal representation without having to establish a bicameral legislature); this is the case with St. Kitts and Nevis, Comoros and Micronesia. In other, non-federal countries, the use of the term Senator marks some other difference between such members and the rest of the legislators (such as the method of selection); this is the case with the States of Jersey, Dominica's House of Assembly and the Saint Vincent House of Assembly. * In Wales, the National Assembly for Wales debating chamber is called the Senedd, pronounced 'Seneth'. * The Senate can be the ruling body of a university. References National senates in the world Defunct senates 603 Roman Republic/Empire * 1204 Byzantine Empire * 1865 Confederate States of America * 1831-1879 Montenegro * 1931-1941 Yugoslavia * 1952 Egypt * 1958 Cuba * 1959 Iraq * 1969 Libya * 1972 Northern Ireland * 1974 Ethiopia * 1975 South Vietnam |col3 = New constitution adopted * 1890 Japan * 1901-1903 Serbia * 1917 Russia * 1917 Finland * 1926 Portugal * 1928 Albania * 1949 Malta * 1950 Indonesia * 1972 Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) * 1979 Iran * 1979 Nicaragua * 1982 Turkey * 1993 Peru * 2000 Venezuela }} See also *Senator for life External links * Livius.org: Roman Senate Senate Category:Legislatures zh:参议院 ar:مجلس الشيوخ ast:Senáu br:Sened ca:Senat cs:Senát da:Senat de:Senat et:Senaator el:Γερουσία es:Senado eo:Senato fr:Sénat gl:Senado id:Senat it:Senato he:סנאט ka:სენატი ku:Senato lv:Senāts lt:Senatas nl:Senaat (volksvertegenwoordiging) ja:元老院 no:Senat pl:Senat pt:Senado ro:Senat ru:Сенат simple:Senate sk:Senát sl:Senat sr:Сенатор fi:Senaatti sv:Senat th:วุฒิสภา tr:Senato uk:Сенат vec:Senato zh-yue:參議院 zh:参议院